Dear Ann Landers,
hat can we do about a seventeen- year-old girl who stands in the center of the living room with a letter from Sarah Lawrence College in her hand and shrieks, "Sarah Lawrence doesn't want me! If I don't get into Stanford I'm going to marry Fatso!" All Patty's friends have the idea that if they aren't accepted by a "prestige" school, they'd rather not go anywhere. Some of Patty's friends have already blackmailed their parents into sending them to Europe for a year. Please don't say it's our fault, Ann. We've never given our daughter the impression that we prefer one school to an-other. In fact, there's a fine school 150 miles from here which would be much less costly than one of the Eastern schools. When we suggested it to Patty she screamed, "I'd rather die than go to that nothing college!" Your comments are in-vited.-B. Wildered Parents

Dear Parents,
There are dozens of excellent small schools, but they have no snob appeal, so unfortunately they go beg-ging for students. High-school advisers can be enormously helpful in guiding students to select schools which are best suited to their emotional needs as well as their intellectual talents. Many a bright student accepted by an Ivy school is unable to cope with the competition. Such a student would be infinitely happier as the big fish in the small pond.